Ken Burns' 'The American Revolution'

Less than 3 minutes into the Ken Burns documentary on the American Revolution, and we get:

1. White people are bad.

2. Native Americans had a centuries-old democracy before British colonists arrived.

3. Benjamin Franklin copied the Native American blueprint. pic.twitter.com/fyx0CHYyQy

— Adam Johnston (@adamkjohnston) November 19, 2025

This isn’t about lies, truths, or half truths.

It’s about propaganda, the most powerful of which is built on all three.

Within the first moments of this documentary, we are immersed in a progressive framing.

Propaganda works by controlling the lens through which we see things.

— Adam Johnston (@adamkjohnston) November 19, 2025

The fourth episode of Burns' American Revolution managed to make even me angry. Native tribes are treated with unusual reverence, with no mention of their practice of slaughtering families or warring with each other using the same rights of conquest imposed on them later. For… pic.twitter.com/qKXI1degk0

— Bob Smalser (@spraguepond) November 19, 2025

Ken Burns suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome. I'm sure that has had an impact on his work. That's unfortunate.